I don't think Shauna Musser will be shocked that she made my blog today. She did a terrific job coaching me in soccer.
It was much appreciated and much needed.
Much needed is actually paying a compliment to my skills.
Before I go any further I can't tell you how impressed I was that Shauna kicked the soccer ball perfectly. She kicked it in the air, to the foot of Meghan Nanfeldt who was many many yards away. I was completely impressed. I came no-where near to doing the same thing. She also perfectly kicked the ball onto the upper-field as we were leaving. If it was me kicking the ball I have a strange feeling I'd had to have run through traffic or gone swimming to get my soccer ball back.
To me her ability to kick the ball perfectly onto Meghan's foot is a reason why everyone needs to respect soccer players in the United States. That is just difficult to do. That ability is impressive. As impressive as a pitcher with tremendous command of his fastball and a quarterback who can hit a moving receiver with a pass 70 yards away. It's as impressive as a Quarterbacks ability to throw to the receivers proper shoulder to avoid being intercepted.
Anyway Shauna did a terrific job finding my flaws in kicking. Meghan did too. Meghan knew that I had no idea what it meant to lock my ankle. I asked her about kicking a soccer ball in April and she told me how to do it. I just had no idea what I was doing when it came to locking my ankle. She had to take my leg and put my ankle in the right position before I understood what she was telling me. What we were doing probably looked strange to onlookers, but thats ok. I learned how to lock my ankle, one of the most important things to do in kicking a soccer ball.
Shauna saw me kick and instantly picked up that I wasn't locking my ankle all the way through the kick. You can also probably tell that you aren't locking your ankle if you look at the spin on the ball. She also saw that I wasn't stepping close enough to the ball. I started getting better over time, especially when I focused on locking my ankle. I will practice up at Franklin Pierce and remember her lessons. Her coaching should definitely cut down on the time I have to retrieve the ball. She also said I was picking it up well. That boosted my confidence, but not enough to actually score a goal on her or Meghan...except if the goal was regulation size I would have had a couple.
Anyway I had fun and learned a few things today. I ALSO GOT FREE EGGS!!!! That made my dad, who hates sports, happy.
I will do my best to follow Hawaii and San Francisco Soccer this fall.
Hawaii is also officially the coolest state to go to college in.
Oh and I always talk about athletes who work hard. Well Shauna should get credit for running her sprints today.
Meghan and I get credit for watching.
I'll make up for watching tomorrow when I bike.
Lastly, Mandy Schwartz is awesome.
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